Puzzle Description:

A Spanner Caterpillar. Caterpillars are insects that are cylinder and are divided by rings into 13 segments. The spanner caterpillar has legs on the ends, rather than along the entire body. This creates an arch when moving.

#1: Gitte Olesen (granny40) on Jan 11, 2007 [SPOILER]

Why did I name this puzzle Pedometer?

Everytime I spotted one of theese in my childhood, I were amuzed. This peculiar way of moving is the reason why me and my sister named them "skridttæller" (stepcounter)
Skridttæller is translated to pedometer, according to my online dictionary

I went googling for "spanner caterpillar" since I'd never heard that page. I think I actually found the page you modeled the image on:

http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/7500/7528/spannercater_7528.htm

This seems to be the only site on the entire Internet that refers to a "spanner caterpillar". I know them, of course, as "inchworms", which even have a song, which I used to sometimes sing to my kids:

Two and two are four
Four and four are eight
Eight and eight are sixteen
Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two

Inch Worm, Inch Worm
Crawling on my windows sill
Inch Worm, Inch Worm
Counting out the numbers still.

The wikipedia says that inchworms are the larva of "geometer moths" which are very common world wide, with over 26,000 known species. Some of the adult moths are quite lovely.

Anyway, I liked the puzzle very much, though for the longest time I thought it was Admiral Nelson's hat.

http://nolantravels2.home.att.net/3engpic22.html

cute! I'd love to see one of these things move :).

i love these worms tooooo! I have a picture of one of them on my facebook page.

not that anyone cares.

Cute.

:o)

I care Nieboo! I have a picture of Daniel Craig on mine.

Cute caterpillar!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fXi3bjKowJU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfXi3bjKowJU

Jan, I had only heard that song in the movie Hans Christian Anderson. After a bit of sleuthing , I see that that's the origin of the song. :)
It has rather a haunting melody, and it's stuck with me all this time.

Huh. The lyrics there, and everywhere, are difficult from the ones I posted. I wonder where the (inferior) ones I posted came from. I have no recollection.

Another wonderful puzzle form Gitte. And, of course, the song will be banging around in my head all day now.

Very nicely illustrated and very interesting.

Just today I was recalling the episode when my first-born (now 32!) was a toddler, playing with Grandma in the yard.

Grandma picked up an inchworm and said "Look, a caterpillar!"

Little Christina blanched and said "I'm afraid of caterpillars!"

Grandma: "Why? They're soft, and cute, don't bite, and tickle when they walk on you... what are you afraid of?"

Christina, exasperated: "CATERPILLARS!"

Goto next topic

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